Tetamu Allah 1999

The husband surprised all of us when he announced that the whole gingbang will be doing the umrah come september. the year was 1999.. AF was in F2, AI primary 5 & AH primary 1.

"Biar anak2 tenguk sendiri kiblat tu kat mana. mudah2an solat nanti lebih bermakna".

AI, AH & AF at a shopping complex in Jeddah

Abe's pretty strict about solat. anyone who fools around with it gets a kick in the butt for sure. and the kids know that only too well, yet they still find ways to thwart their abah, testing his patience to no end.

And he was also a little worried about AF. with PMR looming ahead, he wanted to give his son a chance at saying his own prayers in front of the Kaabah. we were still rather unsure how the ADHD would effect his future. we are after all an exam-oriented society.

'Biar bebudak doa sendiri.. itu yang termampu abah usahakan untuk diorang"

With that, preparations were under way for the lot of us to become 'tetamu Allah'.

There was altogether 7 of us, with the addition of mak & mak ngah. my auntie had always been abe's favourite, probably bcos she's as spunky as my MIL. he appreciates hardworking people and my aunt is the epitome of one. and without children of her own she could do with a helping hand.

Mak & Mak Ngah at the hotel lobby in Jeddah.

Goes without saying i was terribly excited.. but i was also scared at the same time. with all the reading & researching that i'd done, it was clear there were so many do's & dont's connected to it!!! wasnt umrah supposed to be so much easier than haj?

Arafah.. in the background is masjid namirah.

Then after some time i eventually realised that the people concerned, be it through books or ceramahs, just wanted us to maximise on our visit & ibadah. they do it by expounding on whatever syarat & hukum to the minutest details. not realising that by doing so, they were actually scaring the living daylights out of almost everyone. especially the young.. who easily feels intimidated & unprepared, maybe even unworthy. siapa yang nak buat kesilapan & have the wrath of God fall on their heads? and in the case of umrah, i personally think it benefits young people the most bcos they get a headstart in the faith department.

Ready or not we left for the Holy land early september.

On one of our excursions.

Madinah Al Munawarah.

Masjid Nabawi - part of the exterior

Masjid Nabawi - part of the interior

Masjid Nabawi is for me, the most 'syahdu' place on earth. how to define syahdu? i dunno but i felt truly at peace when i entered the mosque. it had an air of quietness & sadness to it and during my prayers there, i kept recalling our beloved prophet's pain & struggle in spreading the word of God. we also made the historical stops to jabal uhud, masjid quba' (1st and oldest mosque in saudi arabia) & masjid qiblatain (mosque of two kiblat) but nothing had quite the same impact.

We did most of our shopping in madinah bcos once in mekah, we wanted to focus on our umrah. we went looking for the usual stuff.. things like jubahs, prayer mats, beads, dates, nuts, raisins and other what have you's. surprisingly people also go to mekah & madinah to buy gold ornaments!! wonders never cease.. i'm not into gold so maybe thats why i was so surprised to see so many gold shops around the two cities. mengalahkan kelate lol.

Mekah Al Mukarramah.

Kaabah

The kabah was everything i thought it would be. arriving in mekah at dusk, it felt as if my search had ended.. and i didnt even realise that i was searching for something. it was just a feeling deep down in my heart.

Masjidil Haram

Staying at aziz khogeer made access to masjidil haram quite easy - thru the main gates of king abdul aziz. the moment i entered the mosque, i realised how very different it was in comparison to masjid nabawi. here, everything was in a state of constant motion.. people were always coming and going, nothing was static. it signified to me the reality of life where islam is right in the centre of it. the messsage is clear, stay alert or be left behind bcos life goes on.

And being in masjidil haram also taught me to appreciate the beauty of God's creation - mankind. we are all different and yet the same.. we pray to the one God. and it opened my eyes to the variety of ways that we can show our faith in God bcos regardless of the differences, ultimately our goal is to seek Allah's blessing & mercy.

Shopping was never our priority but if it was, the bazaars around the masjidil haram sell almost everything under the sun! but dont be surprised that most of the goods are from china lol. and be prepared for the pecularities of the sellers, they are very quick to take advantage of you.

Abe being the independent spirit that he is, was confident enough to take us on the public bus to tannaim for our miqat whenever we wanted to start on another umrah. but it was actually quite scary for us ladies bcos we had to sit at the back of the bus, separated from the men. and with all the scary stories of the folks back home, you cant help but anticipate the worse. alhamdulillah we never once encountered any problems with the local people.

The distinctive white tents of Mina.

The Jamrah AlAqobah.. i never expected it to be in such a small and constricted area.

Jabal Rahmah.. where adam & eve were reunited.

The kiddoes fascination with the colourful (but smelly) camels lol

Jeddah

The city of sculptures & monuments

A town of fanciful sculpture everywhere you turn. the first time i got out of the van i became completely engulfed in the heat and found it extremely hard to breathe. i almost panicked bcos i'd always considered myself a tough hat.. becoming breathless & giddy was indeed a new experience. we didnt really do much in jeddah except sightseeing but one thing that stuck in my mind was the huge portions served during meals.. the single servings was enough to feed a whole family!! i guess arabs must be great eaters lol.

Floating mosque, Jeddah

Before long it was time to head home. Selesai sudah umrah & ziarah. hopefully it would pave the way for the next step - the Haj !

And did we go thru any 'weird' or 'other worldly' experiences while we did our umrah? there's no end to the supply of stories & dire warnings passed on by the others before us. but no, we didnt go thru anything exceptional, just little nudges from the AlMighty to steer us in the right direction..

A little care should be taken when you're doing the umrah with children. relax and be patient, they sometimes forget we're actually there on a mission. it does feel like its just another vacation sometimes, so we cant really blame them.

If your kids bite their nails like all of mine do, caution should be exercised when they're in ihram. we had to settle AI's dam for exactly that reason.

Hold on to your cool bcos you will surely be tested. during our last day Abe got himself into a huff over some problems with the transport. when we did our tawaf widaq he was still very angry. we were actually quite surprised to see him that way bcos he never once lost his cool in the days that we were there. anyway, since we were all checked out & ready to go, we were supposed to meet up at the bus when we finished. the time passed by and he & the boys were still nowhere to be seen. they finally turned up red in the face from exertion.. apparently they'd been hunting high & low for abah's slippers. although they had heaped their slippers together, his was the only one missing!! the hubs became very quiet & contemplative during the ride to the airport.

When you go visiting, be wary of the innocent looking arabs that offer you services for reciting duas and such, they're in it mostly for the money. beware also the 'licik' sellers peddling their wares. their "halal.. halal" cries do not make their lies & treachery any more acceptable.

And just to share an incident that may have been coincidental but what we'd like to think of as God's sign :) To mark our last umrah, my husband & the boys went to the barber to have their hair shaven off completely. once there, my husband chickened out by opting to only crop his hair short while the boys still went ahead with the original plan. his rationale was, it would take too long for his hair to regrow if he went bald. and the outcome to that? hehehe.. the boys had their hair back in no time at all but his took the longest EVER to grow lol!!!

My own take on the umrah? keep things simple and work at keeping our feelings and actions heartfelt & sincere. we wouldnt want to upset our Most gracious Host would we ?! :)

Its done

Up to this point all my old posts have been updated, yay.

Now if only i can round up enough grey matter to continue hehehe.

A small glitch

In the process of uploading pics to old posts.

Finally :D

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM 1997

By the grace of the All Mighty, i stumbled onto my long lost notes at the most unlikely of places.. somewhere i wouldnt even dream of looking. suffice to say its another one of those instances when i am fully affirmed of the existence of a most benevolent & merciful higher power :)

The scribblings i made when i visited brunei was something i needed since it happened ooh soooo very long ago lol. 12 years to be exact and we all know how undependable my memory can be heheheh. but going thru it i soon realised that some parts of of my notes could be considered 'sensitive' and might compromise security. so, we'll just be sticking to the basics :)

I was, at the time, a part of a project team involved in the upgrading of the palace here, namely the balairongseri and later the banquet hall. to facilitate in determining the design & scope for the works, trips to istana nurul iman in bandar seri bengawan & the grand palace in bangkok were arranged. it was a chance not to be missed because the sanction of the istana allowed us certain liberties in carrying out our work, especially in brunei.

My impression of brunei?

Brunei walks the talk. she doesnt only declare herself an islamic country, she also makes an effort to potray the image. brunei air has their stewardesses wearing a head veil. admittedly its rather flimsy but its more than can be said with other similar airlines. then there's also the recitation of the doa perjalanan upon take off, displayed onscreen. and all of this is done matter-of-factly.. you dont get the feeling that its being shoved into your faces. i'm guessing that some would consider it superficial but like i said, at least theres effort.

Being in brunei was no different from being anywhere else in malaysia or singapore.. everything's basically the same. unlike the times i was in manilla and jakarta, there wasnt any sign of beggars or street peddlers loitering about. i guess being a wealthy country helps.



It was comparably quiet & clean. i was actually expecting a busy, ultra modern, citylike atmosphere but as we travelled around i realised that for a small country, the growth was surprising not uniformed.

I could also see that citizens of brunei love their monarch.. and i guess if i was given free education & healthcare, i would too ;)


The Sultan with his wives during his 60th birthday celebration - 2006

My personal take on the sultan? the man has cajones.. he practises polygamy and is completely open about it; no cover ups, denials or pretense. at his throne or singgahsana, there are 3 chairs - the usual pair for him and his queen, another smaller one by the side for his other wife. he also houses her in an official residence, istana nurul izzah. smaller no doubt, but her existence is acknowledged.

Ok back to the main reason i was there.

We spent two solid days making our way round the palaces - istana nurul iman, istana nurul izzah, istana edinburgh, istana taqwa and 2 other istanas belonging to the sultan's bros. only during our last day there were we given the chance to indulge in a little shopping & sightseeing. to be frank, there wasnt really much to see or do but what i remember vividly was the fun time i had at the free theme park in Jerudong - hehehe.. as many rides as you wished and for free, how cool is that!! But then i heard they started charging admission since March 2000.. too bad bcos providing a free park for the people is a great idea.

Istana nurul iman is the official palace & residence of the sultan of brunei, his majesty sultan hassanal bolkiah mu'izzadin waddaulah. it is accessible to the people only during eid celebration and even then only around certain designated public areas like the courtyard and dewan santapan awam. that explains why the tour operator was actually even more excited than we were because our visit was by invitation only and he couldnt otherwise venture into the restricted areas.

Of course i neednt mention that the palace is quite huge. i believe it has a basement parking for about 160 royal vehicles.

It is basically divided into 2 areas - 1. the working area consisting of the usual royal rooms & halls (mengadap, menunggu, singgahsana & balairongseri, bankuet & santapan), the offices, kitchen, pantry and surau (a 2 storey annex buiding). 2. the private residence of the sultan & his family.

I was made to understand that the running & management of the whole istana, during the time of my visit, was entrusted to hyatt international.

And lets not talk about the luxury & oppulence. after 2 days of being witness to what money can buy, i was more than ready to rough it out on the beach somewhere, with the salty breeze in my hair, sand at my feet and clear skies over my head.

I'm pretty thankful for my simple life :)

Although small, brunei does have her attractions. we were taken to the yayasan for some shopping and shown places like the kampung ayer (similar to the ones in sabah), the jame' asr hassanil bolkiah mosque (it has a distinctive dome and its crescent & star is reportedly made of 24 carat gold), universiti brunei darusalam and of course the jerudong park. jerudong park's amphitheatre was the site where the late michael jackson performed to the masses in a free royal concert held in conjunction with the sultan hassanal bolkiah's 50th birthday celebration in 1996.

Kg Ayer


Jerudong Park Open Stage


Jerudong Park rides

Brunei sure has a lot of freebies eh :)

Unfortunately i'm not a photo buff and i cant seem to find any of my own pics, if there were any to begin with lol, of my visit but i'm still holding on to the experiences & the memories :D

*Pics are courtesy of the brunei tourism board.

Bandung 2008

..was actually a last minute holiday plan. it was year's end and more of an effort to utilize the hubs enrich points than anything else, but i'm starting to wonder if he was also trying to feel better about whatever else he was involved in. dunno.

I usually write lengthy travel details bcos such information might prove useful to others but not this time. not bandung. bandung is riddled with too many painful memories. it was supposed to be a family vacation but... it will forever remain bittersweet to me.

Anyway, i'll just let the pics do the talking.

Sigh

.. its high time i updated this blog.

I want to write about my trip to Brunei way back in the late nineties but for the life of me, i cant remember where i kept the notes!! i lost it once and later found it and i actually put it somewhere 'safe' so that i wouldnt lose it again.

Yeah right!! safe la sangat.... sampai tak ingat kat mane!!!

It was an interesting trip not so much because brunei was interesting (personally i found it a little boring) but because i was there on oficial duty and we were allowed certain limited access (but access nevertheless) to the Sultan of Brunei's Palace as well as the palaces of his younger brothers and his 2nd wife (at that time).

Sheesh... if only i can recall that 'safe' place.

The YOKOHAMA Trip 2004

I'm breaking the time sequence here and posting my travels at random... will post whatever i feel like posting :)

JAPAN May/June, 2004.



29th May 2004 finally arrived. The flight from KL International Airport to Narita took about 5-6 hours. The kids were terribly excited especially my daughter... she couldnt recall much of the travelling we did bcoz she was so young, so it sort of felt like the first time for her (ooh the grins on their faces lol).

@ KLIA waiting to board, excited & in the mood for funny faces lol

Its a beautiful city, Yokohama. Very modern, very clean, very well maintained. In fact if ever there was a place that was 'over-maintained' Japan would be it in my book lol.

Heres a little textbook background on the city:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2156.html

With a population of over three million people, Yokohama is Japan's second largest city. It is located less than 30 minutes south of Tokyo by train, and is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. Towards the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867), during which Japan isolated herself from the rest of the world, Western nations forced the country to open its ports to foreign trade. In 1859, Yokohama's port became one of the first ports to be openend, and Yokohama quickly grew from a small fishing village into one of Japan's major cities. Until today, the Yamate residential area retains a Western touch and houses many foreign residents, while Yokohama's Chinatown is one of the world's largest.

Part of the Yokohama Skyline.

Typical chinese arch at Yokohama's Chinatown

We stayed at an apartment provided by my hubby's company for the use of their executives there. Like most Japanese residences it is small and compact with rather low ceilings. Situated in Honmoku, it takes about 20 minutes bus ride to get into the city i.e. to the Sakuragi-cho Station. My hubby had to work from Mon toThurs, so we went exploring on our own but limited to the Yokohama area only. That left us Friday, Sat & Sunday to travel further away. Our flight back was scheduled on Monday, Jun 7th.

Honmoku - view from balcony of our apartment.

Yokohama houses one of Japan's highest building, the Landmark Tower. This 70 story skyscraper at a height of 296 meter is the symbol of Yokohama. The tower has a hotel and halls, and the view from Sky Garden on the observatory on the 69th floor is fantastic. And at the Landmark Plaza, next to the tower, there's shopping to be enjoyed. Since my hubby's office is right across the street, its our point of rendezvous for the most part of our stay lol. Another thing we noticed, there are many many museums in the city. We only did 2; the Mitsubishi Industrial Museum where the kids got to do the City Helicopter Ride Simulation & Yokohama Museum of Art. Oh and the gardens.... its all so beautiful, as it is with most japanese gardens !!

The boys checking out the exhibits at Mitsubishi Industrial Museum

The Trio right outside Yokohama's Art Museum

We went to the fringes of Tokyo one evening and it took us roughly an hour on the JR Train (commuter service) from the Sakuragi-cho Station (situated close to Landmark). Got off at Akihabara, also known as Tokyo's electric city. From there we walked on to Weno, a bazaar like street with cheaper wares and everything you could want lol. My eldest son got himself an air-gun from there, to shoot lizards he said lol. for a toy it sure looked authentic to me and later on the flight back, we actually did take it apart piece by piece in case the airport security was having a bad hair day or something !!

Akihabara by nite

With the hubby's work finally done, we were able to go to the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise on Friday. Its a man made island that houses the Aqua Museum with 100,000 fish, polar bears and sea otters is one of the largest aquariums in Japan. Theres also an amusement park incorporated in it, sort of like Six Flags.

Rides @ Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

We went in search of Mt Fuji (Fujisan) on Saturday. A group of us (comprising of my hubby's colleagues) decided to make the most of the good weather and drove there. Its totally awesome.... but the peaks were not as snow laden as it is famously depicted. the weather was kinda warm for June it seems. We went to Hakone which Hakone is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Its famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty and of course, the view of nearby Mt Fuji. For a closer we went to Motohakone, a village at Ashinoko Lake and although there are buses, we took the more scenic option: via mountain train, then cable car and the ropeway (much smaller cable car lol). but the beautiful view was definitely worth it !!

Mt Fuji in the background

Approaching Motohakone by cable car

Lake Ashinoko

Hot springs spewing strong sulphur fumes

All in all it was a most memorable trip... the kids just hated to leave !! And add oogling japanese school girls in their ultra short & sexy uniforms (the likes of britney spears video clip not so long ago lol) for my boys (and their father too i'd bet though he tries hard to pretend nonchalance lol !! ) one last thing though, we didnt get to do 2 things; tokyo disneyworld and a ride on the famous Shinkansen or bullet train - too bloody expensive LOL !!!

More pics..


AF & AH @ one of the many train stations


AI & AH @ the fountain of Yokohama art museum

Trooping about the streets of Yokohama